The Faust legend and its musical manifestations : a historical overview

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explores the Faust legend and its musical manifestations since the19th century. The objective is to provide a thorough background to the legend, beforedrawing up an account of compositions inspired by the Faust legend.Firstly, the origin of the legend is investigated, followed by a brief summary ofthe most important literary works on the subject of Faust. This is followed by acomprehensive outline of the story as told by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and then themost significant compositions inspired by the legend are discussed. A short sectioncontaining comparisons of the compositions and the conclusions of the study appears atthe end.The legend tells the story of Faust, a scholar, philosopher and alchemist in searchof divine knowledge, power and pleasure. Faust encounters the devil and makes a pactwith him in which he agrees to surrender his immortal soul, if the devil can satisfyFaust's thirst for knowledge and grant him the experience of true happiness.The Faust legend is a very popular theme among composers and artists. One ofthe reasons for the success of the Faust legend is its universal appeal. This has led tovarious composers using the material as the basis for their works. Goethe's version ofthe legend has proven to be the most popular source for composers.To produce a composition that attempts to capture the drama in its entirety,including its psychological and spiritual elements, is not feasible. Works centred on asmaller section, scene or character from Goethe's Faust were often more successful thanthe larger operatic compositions.Like all great universal ideas, the Faust legend lends itself to an abundance ofinterpretations. Similarities between works are rare. Each composer who made use ofthe Faust legend interpreted it subjectively, which has produced many unique andvaried compositions.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University